Remember the last time you were at a networking event or a reception and you were introduced to someone, yet within a few minutes after the introduction you could not remember her name? Or you were having dinner and someone you met before walked into the restaurant, but you could not recall his name? Does that sound familiar? What did you do?
Did you look the other way hoping he wouldn’t recognize you? Did you ask to see his picture ID? Probably not. Did you tell him that you remember he had a very unusual name and asked him to pronounce it for you again? If the person had a foreign sounding name like mine, I guess you were lucky, but if his name was John, that would have been somewhat embarrassing.
Growing up, we have all learned different memory strategies, from repeating names or sentences out loud several times, or making visualizations, or writing things out on paper, or a combination of all of the above.
I would like to share with you a fun and very effective strategy for remembering names.
How does it work?
1. Focus
The neurological pathway in the brain that is used to process your internal dialogue is the same pathway used for selective listening. Have you ever attended a presentation but you were so caught up with other thoughts that you didn’t hear a word that was being said?
Focus your attention fully on the other person while they’re saying their name. Look the person in the eyes for a few seconds while shaking their hand firmly.
2. Listen and repeat
Listen attentively to the person saying their name and repeat their name back to them. If you’re not sure how to spell the name, ask them to spell it out for you. Rest assured, people love to say their name!
3. Visualize
Pick your favorite color (mine is blue), and imagine writing their name in big bright letters on their forehead. Keep this image in your mind anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds. Make sure you don’t use small letters as they are harder to read and remember.
While seeing the name clearly printed on their forehead, repeat the name to yourself silently a couple of times. It also helps to use the same voice qualities of the person, and it makes it more fun.
4. Write it
The final step is to write the person’s name on your hip or in the air. I recommend you keep your hand movements fairly small …
Why does it work?
The reason this strategy for remembering names is so effective is because it uses the main three sensory representational channels - visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
But don’t take my word for it, just try it and have some fun!
Dieter Pauwels is a career life coach, speaker and author based in St. Louis, MO.
He facilitates personal and organizational transformation and works with both individuals and teams to create new possibilities, navigate change and maximize their productivity and personal effectiveness.
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